I was looking at some bulletin board somewhere today, and someone mentioned that they were trying to cut back on their DC comics so that they could apply more of their comic budget to independent titles. They were enjoying the books they were getting, but seemed to feel that they "should" read more of the independents.
I think this is interesting. It's another example of something you see occasionally, where comics produced by mainstream companies (which I guess means Marvel and DC), particularly superhero titles, are considered lesser than non-superhero titles produced by non-mainstream companies.
Part of this, I'm sure is the corporate vs. small-business thing. I can see that one, actually--I prefer to shop at small local stores myself when I can. Of course, "when I can" means "when I can get the product I want at each store." For example, if I'm going out grocery-shopping and I want fresh meat, I won't go to the local natural foods co-op because they don't carry it. Buying indies means supporting independent creators, which means supporting diversity and choice. All else being equal, that's a pretty good reason right there.
But a lot of it, I think, is that superhero comics are just lower on the pyramid of comic coolness than non-hero titles. (I am not sure when comics of any sort became cool. I always read them because I liked them. That's still the case. Of course, I've never had any illusions about being cool. :))
I like independent, non-superhero titles. I don't love them the way I love heroes, but I like them. I've read them in the past, but they're not a part of my usual comic reading. Some of this, I'm sure, has to do with living somewhere without a comic shop--I imagine if I went into town once a week to get my comics, to a store where I could actually see what I'd be buying ahead of time, or have something new catch my eye, I'd be more likely to pick up that something new. As it is, ordering them online, I tend not to.
A greater part probably has to do with money--like just about everyone else, my comic book budget is finite (and if yours isn't, I don't really want to hear about it), and I spend it where I am reasonably sure I'll like what I get. More expensive comics make readers less willing to try new things? Possibly in general, definitely in my own case.
Part is that I don't tend to seek out slice-of-life stories in any media, anyway (movies, novels, television)--I like mysteries, science fiction, horror, history. Well, I guess that's a personal limitation there, and it only keeps me away from some of the indies in any case. I occasionally watch a chick flick or a moving drama, but not often, and more likely if it was made before 1960 (Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck can make even the sappiest story palatable).
Part is that you really don't see superhero stories in other media, but you do see other sorts of stories there--there's less need to seek out mysteries and so forth outside of movies and novels.
Part is, yes, the nostalgia factor; maybe if I'd read Archie or Donald Duck as a kid, that'd be what I want now, but it wasn't and I don't.
And part is that, well, I just really like superhero stories. I don't think that this necessarily means that my taste is immature (although it might :))--I don't only read comic books, after all--but I don't think that I "should" read other things instead, or that I ought to replace my superhero titles with something more adult.
So if I had more access to different comic books, or more money in my comic budget, would I buy more independents? Maybe. With more money I'd probably start off buying more superhero titles, to be perfectly honest. But with more information, and the ability to flip through a book before deciding whether or not to buy it, yeah, I'd probably get a wider variety of comics. I do read reviews of independent titles. (Never would have known to get Action Philosophers without them, and that was a lot of fun.) I do like the comic medium, the whole word and picture thing.
However, I suspect that I'd be more likely to buy them as trades than as floppies. And I'd be more likely to buy them if they're ongoing titles featuring the same characters over a long period of time rather than single storylines--I like to become invested in my episodic fiction :).
So, in theory I'm open to new things. In actuality, probably not so much (due primarily but not entirely to practical matters).
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